Latest news with #Manzini
The Citizen
11 hours ago
- Health
- The Citizen
Staff shortage leaves 122 ambulances unused
Only 72 out of 194 Mpumalanga ambulances are operational as the province faces a dire emergency personnel shortage crisis. The Mpumalanga department of health has come under fire for not using 122 ambulances due to a shortage of staff. The unions and political parties have slammed the department after the portfolio committee on health recently revealed the department has 194 ambulances, but only 72 are in service. Flip van der Walt, provincial leader of the Public Servants Association of South Africa, slated health MEC Sasekani Manzini. Only 72 ambulances in service 'The officials seem unable to manage the department in line with the Public Finance Management Act,' said Van der Walt. 'Why do you procure 194 ambulances while you know that you only have 72 possible drivers? We all know when vehicles are not operational and standing, it is then that vehicles get damaged.' According to the emergency medical norms and standards, there must be one ambulance per 10 000 people, which means that ideally, Mpumalanga should have at least 480 fully operational ambulances. ALSO READ: Thief who stole ambulance with patient inside granted bail 'At 72 ambulances for a population of five million, it means Mpumalanga has one ambulance for 69 000 people,' said Bosman Grobler, DA spokesperson on health in the Mpumalanga. 'This cannot be acceptable and it is against the emergency medical norms and standards. It is concerning that the shortage and late arrival of ambulances when summoned has become a normality,' said Grobler. 'This is especially true when taking into consideration that the South African national norms and standards recommend EMS [Emergency Medical Services] response time of 15 minutes in urban areas and 40 minutes for rural areas.' Prioritise employing more EMS He urged Manzini to rather prioritise employing more EMS personnel to operate the 122 ambulances standing idle, instead of relaunching the 2021-22 Impilo citizen engagement platform application. He said the app, which has 'failed dismally', was procured in 2021-22 with Vodacom on a twoyear contract worth R33.4 million. 'It was initially aimed at helping the department address the effective management of their EMS resources in terms of call taking and call dispatching,' said Grobler. ALSO READ: Department of Health confirms 24 ambulances allegedly sabotaged by staff 'The app was also meant to help communities register their concerns and complaints experienced during emergencies. 'But the department abandoned the app in 2023 when the contract with Vodacom lapsed – partly because they realised the majority of residents who rely on public health did not have access to the app as it required a smartphone and data to even access it.' He said they were concerned that the department was on the verge of relaunching the app in September at a cost of R750 000, a monthly operational cost of between R50 000 and R100 000. Concern about app relaunch He added the DA would engage Manzini to propose she consider employing more EMS personnel to operate ambulances, instead of spending millions more on an app that did not serve its purpose in the past. Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) provincial secretary Cyril Mdluli has also expressed concern. 'We are concerned about the severe and chronic shortage that the department has on EMS personnel, especially since this shortage on EMS relates directly to nursing,' said Mdluli. ALSO READ: EC hijacking horror: Ambulance transporting eight-year-old patient hijacked 'This shortage has resulted in many incidents where patients will wait for long at primary health care after being referred to hospital for further management, which might result in some complications.' He also called on the department to employ more EMS personnel not only with basic qualifications, but also with advanced qualifications that can be able to manage patients' conditions inside ambulances. 'As Denosa we have advised our members to stop escorting patients as their work is in the clinic or hospital and not in an ambulance,' he said. Dept must speed up EMS college Mdluli said the department must speed up an EMS college in the province that will accommodate the current staff members to upskill them on advanced courses as per the Skills Development Act. He said the province currently has few of them and the majority of personnel have basic life support. Mpumalanga department of health spokesperson Dumisani Malamule had not responded to questions by the time of publication. In a recent article by IOL, South African Emergency Personnel's Union president Mpho Mpogeng said Mpumalanga is one of the provinces facing a huge shortage of ambulances. ALSO READ: Ambulance stoning incident condemned Meanwhile, it is also alleged that in Limpopo there is a shortage of qualified ambulance crew, but health department spokesperson Neil Shikwana dismissed the claim. Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi conceded in parliament that there was a shortage of ambulance personnel. He said the government was addressing the matter.
The Citizen
5 days ago
- Health
- The Citizen
Arnot community receives much-needed mobile clinic
The Mpumalanga MEC for health, Sasekani Manzini, said the Mpumalanga Department of Health (DoH) has plans to build a permanent facility to service Arnot residents. This after the Arnot OpCo Mine in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality handed over a new mobile clinic in Arnot near Middelburg last Tuesday. 'The mobile clinic has all the services you will find in a permanent structure. This is a gift that will make the work of the Mpumalanga DoH easier and we are very grateful,' Manzini told the community members at the handover. 'As government, we fully embrace public-private partnerships because they are ideal in helping both the government and the private sector to touch and impact people's lives positively. Plans are currently under way to erect a permanent clinic structure in the area to continue to serve the masses of the province.' ALSO READ: Fake, expired and unsafe food products confiscated in Hazyview Arnot OpCo's CEO, Bontle Aphane, echoed Manzini's words while also encouraging all men to make healthier lifestyle decisions and follow through with clinical check-ups. 'The mine is determined to work hard for the benefit of the company and the communities they operate in,' said Aphane. ALSO READ: Eight hours without electricity on Sunday – which areas of Mbombela will be affected? Manzini urged the public to consistently check their health status, making use of health facilities available within communities, affirming the DoH's aim to close the 134 000 HIV treatment gap by December 2025. This campaign was launched two weeks ago. 'It should be the norm to everyone to visit their nearest facility to check their health, even when they do not feel sick,' she said. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
23-05-2025
- Health
- The Citizen
Mpumalanga health department on a mission to trace over 100 000 HIV-positive citizens
As a way of tracing more than 134 000 people in the province who have tested positive for HIV but are not on treatment, a Close the Gap campaign was launched on Friday, May 16. The campaign was launched at Rob Ferreira Hospital by the Mpumalanga Department of Health (DoH), in collaboration with the Mpumalanga Aids Council and other stakeholders in the health sector. ALSO READ: 43 000 Mpumalanga residents lose jobs in first quarter of 2025 This national campaign to locate the 1.1 million South African citizens who have tested positive for HIV, but are not on treatment, was launched in February by the minister of health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. The campaign also seeks to wage a war against TB, to ensure that the disease is eradicated. According to the department, the province is faced with the task of locating more than 134 000 people and putting them on antiretroviral treatment, while 9 380 must receive TB treatment, to ensure they live longer and lead healthy lifestyles. 'The health department is banking on our healthcare facilities and the support and co-operation of other stakeholders to realise our objective, thus successfully contributing to the national target of 1.1 million,' read a press release. The Ehlanzeni District has been identified as the region with the highest numbers of HIV-positive people who are not on treatment. The MEC for health, Sasekani Manzini, said the department has in the past months been able to trace 13 000 patients and the aim is to trace the remaining 121 000 by December. These include people who have taken their medication before and then defaulted, and the people who have never been on treatment before. Manzini said they are concerned that many HIV-positive men have never been on medication, and that most children who were born positive are not receiving medication. This is according to research they have conducted. 'The men do not test and say as long as their partners have tested it means they do not have to go to the clinic to test. Children are under the care of their parents and they need to make sure their children are receiving the necessary treatment.' ALSO READ: Over 1 000 illegal miners arrested across Lowveld Manzini said they are going to do what they did during the Covid-19 pandemic. They will use the same procedure so that they can identify the people they are looking for. 'We are going back to the clinic base campaign. Each clinic has a certain number of persons who are not receiving treatment and who need to be traced. We have traditional practitioners, leaders, councillors and business people who we will work together with to make sure that everyone who needs to take treatment is doing so.' Sfiso Nkala of People Living With HIV said some people decide to stop taking their medication due to the poor treatment they receive from healthcare workers at health facilities. Trudy Khumalo of the youth sector in Mpumalanga, said the counsellors need to change the way they render their services at healthcare facilities. 'Instead of giving assistance and providing therapy to patients, they ask unnecessary questions which make the patients uncomfortable.' Khumalo added that the long queues at healthcare facilities are also a problem. 'Young people do not like sitting and waiting for their treatment for many hours, so they decide not to go collect their medication,' she said. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
09-05-2025
- Health
- The Citizen
Over 50% decline in Mpumalanga malaria cases
The Mpumalanga Department of Health has recorded a 59% reduction in malaria cases in the 2024/25 fiscal year. In the current year 1 066 cases were recorded, a significant drop compared with 2 578 in 2023/24. The MEC for health, Sasekani Manzini, said a further reduction is expected, especially in the Ehlanzeni district, as most cases were linked to individuals in Bushbuckridge, Mbombela and Nkomazi. ALSO READ: Missing girl update: Police bring in hovercraft boat in hopes of finding 3-year-old Aqhama 'We have a story to tell of significant achievement regarding malaria deaths, which have been reduced from 21 to three deaths between 2023/24 and 2024/25. That translates to an 86% reduction in deaths. During 2024/25, we had only one local and two imported transmissions leading to deaths. Our local transmission has also been reduced from 702 to 69 local cases, which is a 90% reduction,' she said. Manzini revealed these statistics in her keynote address at the commemoration of World Malaria Day, held at Nutting House Lodge on Friday, May 2. The day was observed under the theme, 'Malaria ends with us to reinvest, reimagine, reignite', which is aimed at publicising the need for continuous investment in malaria elimination. ALSO READ: Influenza season comes earlier than expected Manzini said malaria is preventable, treatable and curable, while urging the public to take note of the early signs of infection such as fever, headache, body pains, extreme sweating, vomiting and diarrhoea. She said that any person who is experiencing one or more of these symptoms – and who has been in an area where malaria is prevalent – should not delay visiting their nearest healthcare facility. She added that a malaria infection can get complicated quickly, making it hard to manage, which could lead to death. The event was attended by government dignitaries, clinical health services workers, provincial malaria spray operators, members of the Traditional Health Organisation and community members. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Soweto Fashion Week cultivates next wave of trailblazers with autumn/winter 2025 showcase
SFW founder Steph Manzini said their focus on building the local fashion industry differentiates it from other fashion weeks in the country. The Soweto Fashion Week autumn/winter showcase is expected to showcase 30-35 designers and with 80 models anticipated to walk the runway. Picture: Supplied The importance of grassroots and development is often mentioned in sport. Yet development is vital in most, if not all, industries. In fashion, for someone to reach the level of gracing platforms such as the Met Gala or the Paris Fashion Week, one has to start somewhere. Now in its 14th edition, the Soweto Fashion Week (SFW) is one of the vital platforms for the development of the fashion industry, particularly because it's hosted in a township, making it accessible. SFW founder Steph Manzini said their focus on building the local fashion industry differentiates it from other fashion weeks in the country. 'Building the local fashion industry, working with higher institutions at the grassroots level. It's important to keep our local brands relevant in the market,' Manzini told The Citizen. The SFW's autumn/winter 2025 showcase starts at the Soweto Theatre on Wednesday, 7 May, and will run until Saturday, 10 May. ALSO READ: 'We haven't even scratched the surface' – Soweto Fashion Week founder on 13 years of consistency [VIDEO] Autumn/winter showcase Established in 2011, the SFW has assisted more than 120 designers and 1000 runway models on the African continent, catapulting their businesses and support for 13 years. For this autumn/winter showcase, Manzini said they are scheduled to showcase 30-35 designers, and 80 models are anticipated to walk the runway. 'Each season, Soweto Fashion Week strives to provide a vital platform for local designers to showcase their talent and connect with a broader audience. We are committed to fostering growth within the South African fashion industry. Every year, we look forward to presenting collections that are both inspiring and forward-thinking,' Manzini said. The autumn/winter 2025 collections are expected to blend contemporary styles with traditional influences, highlighting the unique spirit and creativity synonymous with Soweto. ALSO READ: WATCH: Russian designers captivate audience at the Soweto Fashion Week 'The show goes on' Speaking to The Citizen just hours before day one of the SFW, Manzini said the preparations were stressful yet fun. This year's edition sees new sponsors partner with the SFW, which was previously known as the 'Sta-Sof-Fro SFW'—this was as recently as November last year, when the SFW hosted the Spring/Summer showcase. 'Different setup and new sponsors. The conversations are different, hence stress levels go a bit higher but it's fun and worth it,' shared Manzini. New partners of the SFW are haircare brand Creme of Nature and whisky brand Monkey Shoulder. 'We've had a change of sponsors. At times, sponsorships have a short span, a collaboration that was fitting at the time; however, the show goes on,' Manzini said. NOW READ: South Africans make their presence felt at the Met Gala in New York
